Afterlife
by EdithMay
Summary: Cory hadn't expected much when she was posted as Reaper to a small town, but when her partner is killed by demons, she will stop at nothing to get her revenge, even if it means teaming up with Sam Winchester. (On hiatus. Working on other projects.)
1. Chapter 1

This is pathetic. So pathetic. Cory had never been so disappointed in her long life. The reaper had to keep her dark thoughts to herself as she walked into the old, small home. She located the soul, walking up to the elderly woman. Cory stood beside the bed, looking down at the soul's body before looking at the soul.

"Is this really it?" The woman asked. "Are you Death? I thought you'd be a lot different..."She said, seeming to be in shock. The reaper sighed, holding her pale hand out to the old soul.

"I'm not Death...I'm just a reaper." Cory smiled, pushing her large black hood back so the woman could see her face. Cory was short for a reaper. She had long black hair that she kept in a side braid that started just under her ear. Her eyes were almost neon green. Cory smiled when the woman saw how young she looked. Cory looked like she was only sixteen years old. Cory acted like a sixteen year old.

"You are so young..." The elderly soul muttered as Cory escorted her to her Heaven. Once she got back, Cory looked around the empty house, and was sad to find that no one was there. It might be awhile before someone finds the woman's body. She could be forgotten. As much as it hurt Cory to see people go through losing someone, it hurt even more when they were forgotten. She shouldn't care this much though. After all, she is a Reaper and she can't fight the natural order of things. Cory left the house and walked down the street. She knew that it was going to start snowing soon. She could feel it in the air. Cory had always liked this time of year. She pulled her large, warm hood back up and kept walking. She had to get back to her partner, Darren. They had just completed training, one hundred years worth. It was more than normal reapers. Even though they had so much training, they were stuck with a small town in the middle of nowhere. Cory knew that she was expected to fail. Cory kept her head down, walking up the middle of the empty street. She didn't notice a child watching her from his front yard.

"Took you long enough."Darren said, as Cory walked up to him.

"Whatever." Cory hissed.

Why are you in a mood, Caroline?" Darren asked, turning to look at him. Cory slapped him.

"How many years have we been working together? It's Cory." She snapped. Darren laughed. He liked bugging her. He seemed older than her, looking about eighteen years old. He has blonde hair, and bright, sky blue eyes and almost always had a smile which was strange for a reaper.

"Alright, Caroline. Shall we finish the last one together?" Darren asked, his smiling looking more like a smirk. Cory decided to ignore the fact that he called her Caroline again.

"Fine." Cory growled. Darren laughed as they walked together down the street.

Darren pushed open the red-painted door and held it open for Cory. Inside, they found a middle-aged man, laying on the floor. He had died from a heart attack. His soul stood by his body, looking confused. Darren decided to take care of this one. Cory heard a child and the mother. She sighed, looking down. Suddenly, the child went quiet, and she heard footsteps behind her.

"Are you done already?" Cory asked, turning. She felt sick when she saw the dead man's wife and child looking at her with wide eyes. They could see her. They could see a reaper. "Oh..." Cory could only say. She kept her black hood on, the shadows hiding her face. She saw Darren appear behind the woman and child. He figured it out pretty quick too that the humans could see them. Cory suddenly disappeared, appearing outside in the frosty lawn. Darren ran over to his partner, taking her hand and they ran as fast as they could away from the house.

Sam sat the main table in the Library, tapping his fingers on the table. He felt like getting out, working something. They had other, bigger things to do and they couldn't run off and do something small. Dean walked in, carrying a bag of greasy take out.

"Alright fine." Dean said, setting it down. "Find a case. You are gonna start bouncing off the walls soon." Dean said as he sat down. Sam almost sighed in relief, pulling his beloved laptop closer. He opened it and quickly got to researching. It wasn't long before he found something.

"I think I found something." Sam said. The report said that a woman named Lucille Waters' home was broken by what she says is a ghost. When they disappeared, her husband, James Waters, was dead." Sam explained.

"Well if it is a ghost thing, then you can handle this, Sam."Dean said, taking a bite of his burger. Sam nodded, rereading the article.

Sam parked the Impala outside home, and looked up at the house. He checked the address again before getting out and walking up the steps. He knocked on the door, and looked around. Across the street, two teenagers dressed in black watched him. The girl was smoking, her large black hood falling off. Sam looked confused as he stared back at them. The door opened and Sam turned his attention to Lucille.

"Lucille Waters? My name is Phillip Cardy. I'm a Paranormal journalist. I wanted to interview about the spirit you saw." Sam said, smiling slightly at her. Lucille nodded, opening the door wider, letting him in. She lead him to the living room and he sat down across from her. "So...What did these spirits look like?"

"They were young...They looked like they were children. Just teenagers. They seemed just as surprised to see me as me and my son, Lucas, were surprised to see them." Lucille explained.

"Why do you think they appeared here?" Sam asked, glancing out the window at the goth looking teenagers across the street. They were still looking right at him. He pulled his focus back to Lucille.

"I don't know...I don't think they were evil. They did appear though when my husband had a heart attack, and passed away." Lucille said, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Sam said, looking down at the floor. "Were the spirits you saw, wearing black?"

"Yes. They were. They had large hoods too." Lucille said. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. Did you smell anything like sulphur?" He asked quickly.

"No...But the girl...she smelled like cigarettes." Lucille said. Sam looked at the two teenagers across the street again.

"I think I have all I need for now. Thank you, Mrs. Waters." Sam said, getting up. Lucille nodded, letting him leave. Sam looked at the teenagers, confused. They seemed to be paying no attention to him now and were talking to each other. When Cory and Darren saw that Sam was gone, they started walking down the street. Now they had a hunter to deal with too, and a Winchester at that. They'd follow him for now.

Cory waited outside the house for Darren to finish with a soul. She felt a strong, evil presence and opened her eyes. She looked up at a group of demons, their black eyes glinting in the orange street light.

"Hello reaper." One of the demons said.

"What do you want, you abomination." Cory spat. The demons laughed.

"We just wanted to say hi. It took us a while to find you. With this handy spell of ours, we can see you now." The demon smiled, stepping towards her. Cory stood her ground, glaring at them.

"You have said hi. Get out of this town." Cory hissed.

"Not in till we get what we came here for." The demon suddenly grabbed her, smiling at the reaper. One of them had an angel blade. They wanted to kill her. Cory growled, her scythe appearing her hand. She swung the blade, cutting one's neck, the point of it getting another.

"Get away from her!" They heard Darren yell. Cory turned and saw Darren. A demon appeared behind him and suddenly stabbed the reaper. Cory screamed, falling to her knees. The demons disappeared, leaving Cory to watch Darren's body fall to the ground. Cory's scythe fell from her hand, clattering onto the frozen ground. She felt sick. She felt alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam sat on his bed in the motel room, researching reapers. This case was turning out to be more than he expected. Reapers that could be seen by the living was new to Sam. It could be caused by anything. Sam was determined not go to Dean for too much help though. Dean had his hands full with dealing with Crowley and tracking down Abbadon. There was a sudden knock at his door, startling to the hunter. Sam looked at the time, and found it strange that someone would be at his door at this time of night. Sam grabbed his gun, checking to make sure it was loaded and walked towards the door. He slowly opened it, and was greeted by a waft of cigarette smoke in his face. Cory took another drag, looking at Sam with eyes red from crying.

"Are you Sam Winchester?" The reaper demanded, smoke drifting around her.

"Who is asking?"

"I'm asking." Cory hissed. Sam kept his hand on his gun, unsure of who the teenager was. Of what the teenager was. Sam remember the two teenagers in black who were watching him earlier. He looked around, expecting to see the boy who was with her. Cory knew what he was doing and she looked down, taking another drag. "You won't find him." Cory said, her voice sounding empty. Sam tucked his gun into his pants and let the strange girl into the motel room. "You are here because I was seen...right?"

"Well...who are you?" Sam asked.

"My name is Cory." She said, putting her cigarette out on the table. She looked at the burned spot on the table, then looked up at Sam. "I'm a Reaper."

"A Reaper? Then how can I see you?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. I need your help. M...My partner...Darren...he was killed tonight. He was murdered by demons. They were looking for us." Cory explained.

"How do I know that you are a Reaper?" Sam asked, reaching into his bag. He got his flask full of holy water and threw some of it on the reaper. She sighed, using her sleeve to dry her face.

"Anything else?" She asked. Sam pulled out an angel blade. Cory paled, backing away from Sam.

"What are you doing? Why do you have that?" Cory snarled, her scythe appearing in her hand. Sam's eyes went to her weapon, and he put the blade down.

"Relax." Sam said, tucking it away in his bag. Cory sighed, reaching into her pocket and took out another cigarette and her lighter. Her lighter was covered in black rhinestones that she spent two hours putting on back in the eighties. Sam hated the smell of the smoke, but he didn't say anything.

"Will you help me or not?" Cory snapped, relaxing when she blew the smoke out.

"Fine. I'll help you." Sam said. Cory nodded, pulling her hood up to hide the tears in her eyes. Sam noticed that she seemed very human for a Reaper.

Sam stood outside by the Impala, on the phone with Dean. He told him about Cory and how she wanted him to help her.

"And then I agreed to help her." Sam finished explaining.

"So demons are going after reapers?" Dean asked. "Sounds Abbadon-y."

"I can handle this. Go ask Crowley if he knows anything. I'll see if I can get anything else out of Cory." Sam said. Dean agreed and hung up. Dean set the phone down and walked down the hall. Downstairs, he pushed open the door, flipping the light on. Crowley looked up, smirking at Dean.

"Where is your moose?" Crowley asked, folding his hands in his lap.

"What do you know about reapers?" Dean asked, leaning against the table.

"Is Sam dead again? Need to talk with some reapers?" Crowley smirked.

"What do you know about reapers?" Dean repeated.

"I heard that they all have a problem with junk food." Crowley laughed. Dean, who had hidden the demon knife in his back pocket, pulled the knife out while grabbing Crowley's right hand. He stabbed the knife into Crowley's hand, and felt it go through part of the metal table. Crowley made a strangled noise, looking at the knife with wide eyes.

"I'm gonna leave that there. It might help you remember." Dean snarled, leaving the room. Crowley narrowed his eyes at the blade in his hand. With his free hand, he reached forward and tried to pull it out. He gritted his teeth, the blade catching on the metal. Crowley stopped, his blood dripping off the table.

Sam sat across from Cory in a 24 hour diner. He watched as she ate her burger as if she had never eaten anything before in her life. Cory set her burger down and took sip from her strawberry milkshake. Cory looked up at Sam, leaning back.

"What?" Cory asked, blowing bubbles into her drink.

"I thought that Death himself was the only one who liked fast food this much." Sam smiled. Cory rolled her eyes.

"All of us reapers like it." Cory said, stuffing french fries into her mouth.

"Why?"

"Because we can eat as much of it as we went, when we want. We aren't effected by it like humans are. The same goes for smoking. I can't get sick. I'm not hurt by it. I've smoked since the twenties." Cory smiled.

"So you do these things because you can?" Sam tried to sum it up.

"Also because we get to be human for a while. Makes us feel alive. Sounds cheesy, I know." Cory took another sip from her drink. She seemed to zone out, her thoughts elsewhere. Sam noticed that the reaper was crying.

"Cory?" Sam asked softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm the Queen of okay." She joked.

**November 27th, 1833. One Week Before.**

**Caroline sat at her vanity, trying to fix her braided hair. She could never get it right. Her mother always got it right, but now she was gone. She had to braid her hair on her own. Caroline blinked back the tears at the memory of her mother. She had gotten sick earlier in the year, but she would always tell Caroline that it was nothing. That she had nothing to worry about. A few months later, she was gone. Caroline looked down at the comb in her hand. She started to cry, unable to stop the sobs. Caroline put her head down on the table of the vanity, trying to kept her sobs quiet so she wouldn't worry the others in the house. When Caroline eventually sat up, she forced herself to stop crying. Instead, the only tears that fell where because of the pain her corset caused. She had just started to wear them, and she wasn't used to the shortness of breath she got from them. Caroline looked up in the mirror and saw an old man in a black suit standing behind her. He held a cane with a silver skull head, and looked almost skeletal. Caroline turned, but he wasn't there. Caroline looked back in the mirror, and the man was gone. Caroline was unconscious before she hit the floor.**

Cory walked through the woods, towards the final resting place she had given to Darren. Her long black cloak flowed around her as she walked, mist drifting past the reaper. When she got to the meadow, she noticed the flowers growing where Darren had been buried. She smiled, kneeling down in front of them. She wanted to touch their petals, but she knew that if she did, she would kill its beauty. Cory looked down at her hands, sighing. Her curse was the reason she would always be alone. The reason she would never feel the touch of someone else. Why she had to be alone. Cory reached forward, gently stroking one of the flower's petals. Instantly, the flower blackened, and in seconds, it had gone through its life span and died. Cory crushed the dry petals in her hand, tears falling from her eyes. She'd get revenge. She'd kill every demon if she had to. Darren didn't deserve to die. She loved him. He was her best friend. He never thought that she was freak. He thought that what she could do was amazing. She wouldn't let him down.


	3. Chapter 3

"Aw yeah Sam. Back that ass up." Cory said in a completely mono-tone voice as she walked up to him. Sam looked up from the messy weapons in the trunk and looked at Cory. He rolled his eyes, and noticed the two red, christmas themed Starbucks coffee cups she held.

"What are those?" He asked, turning around and stood up straight.

"Holiday coffee. It keeps teenagers going in these cold months. I got you one." Cory said, taking a sip of her's. Sam took the coffee from her, taking sip. Cory was quick to pull her hand away so Sam wouldn't touch her hand.

"This isn't coffee. It's caramel and whipped cream." Sam cried.

"The way I like it." Cory smirked.

"'Right...Well get in the car. I found a demon nest. We can get a demon, question them." Sam explained.

"You mean torture? And you are just going to kill the vessel with the demon like you hunters normally do?" Cory asked, getting into the Impala. Sam didn't answer her. He didn't have to. They didn't talk much during the ride. Cory drank her coffee, then Sam's because it was too sweet for him. When she finished the coffee, she took out a cigarette and lit it. She rolled down the window and blew smoke out the window.

"Your teeth must be really yellow." Sam said, glancing at her. Cory turned to him and smiled. Her teeth were pearly white. Sam scoffed, looking away from the reaper. Cory giggled, taking another drag."You shouldn't really be doing that in the car..."

"Why?" Cory asked, a smirk on her face.

"My brother, this is his car. He will kill you if he smells that in here." Sam said, laughing. Cory rolled her eyes.

"I will kill you and don't think that I'm joking." Dean snarled at Crowley, pulling the knife out of Crowley's hand suddenly. Crowley hissed at the sudden pain. He was thankful to have that out of his hand though.

"You won't kill me. You need me." Crowley said, holding his wounded hand close to his chest.

"No. I don't need you. Killing you is what we planned on doing all along. You deserve it." Dean snarled, holding the knife in his hand tightly. "So unless you want to die, start talking."

"I know as much about Reapers as you do." Crowley said calmly. This got him a sharp punch from Dean.

"What do you know about Reapers?" Dean growled.

"This really is fun. I enjoy it." Crowley smirked. Dean sighed, realizing that this wasn't going to work. He needed another way to go about this.

"What do you want?" Dean asked, crossing his arms.

"I want to know what you know about Abbadon and what she is doing. I'm clueless down here." Crowley said simply.

"That's it?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yes." Crowley. "I want the information first." Crowley added. Dean sighed, leaving him the dark room. When he came back an hour later, he threw the file on the table. Crowley smirked, flipping through the papers inside. "Seems legit."

"Well that is all we got. Now what do you know about reapers?" Dean asked, leaning against the table.

"What do you want to know?" Crowley asked, leaning back in his chair, and smirked at Dean. Crowley decided that he wasn't going to tell too much. For once in a while, he had control even though he was in chains.

"Reapers can be seen by people who are alive. Demons are killing them. Why would this happen?" Dean demanded.

"Well...It could be for a seal in getting Lucifer out of his cage. Reapers were killed before for a seal." Crowley suggested. "It must be on Abbadon's orders."

"So how do we stop it?"

"You don't stop it."

**November 29, 1833 Five Days Before **

**Caroline woke up, unable to breathe. She was in such intense pain, she could hardly move. She coughed up blood, forcing herself out of her bed. Her corset was too tight. She fell to her knees, spitting blood on the Parisian rug. Caroline struggled to her feet, and tripped on her night-gown. Caroline fell to her side, blood soaking through her corset. She needed air. Caroline got to her feet, trying to untie the corset. She stumbled across the room, towards the window. She finally got the strings loosened, and pushed open the window. She smeared blood on the window as she opened it. Caroline breathed in deeply, feeling the air return to her lungs. She had never been more thankful for cold, crisp air in her turned away from the window to get a cloth. She cleaned the blood off her face and hands. Her corset was stained, looking more pastel red now than bleach white. Caroline sighed, closing her eyes as she pulled the corset off. Her night-gown that she had on underneath had been soaked with blood. She lifted it up and saw deep cuts that were in the shape of her corset all on her torso and over her chest. She used the cloth and some water to clean the blood off and tried to get the stains out of her night-gown. She couldn't let her family know that she was this hurt by her corset. She had to get used to it, even if it meant having to bleed for it. She pulled her silk robe around herself, leaning against the cold window pane. She looked down and saw a black, beautiful coach, pulled by three of the biggest black horses that Caroline had ever seen. It stopped in front of her house and a man got out. Caroline paled, recognising him. She had seen him in her mirror two days before. The man looked up at her window and nodded to her. He tipped his black top hat to her before getting back into the coach. Caroline watched, her eyes wide. She felt like she should go with him. Caroline wanted to get into the coach with him and never have to wake up from such pain again. **

Cory snapped her eyes open, gasping for air. She had fallen asleep during the drive which surprised her. She hadn't slept since the Apocalypse.

"Cory? Are you okay?" Sam asked, looking at her with concern. Cory was still trying to get her breathing back to normal. She nodded slowly, moving her hands over her sides. She still had ugly-looking scars in the shape of a corset.

"Just...Just a bad dream. I'm fine." Cory said, moving her hands away from her sides. The black necklace around her neck felt heavy around her neck. Sam just noticed it, the chain and the dark pendent glinting the light and caught his attention. Sam thought that she wore just cause, but it had a reason. Cory had been given the necklace a long time ago. It kept her from using her most dangerous powers. Cory was scared of what she was capable of and she hoped that she never had to use them. "How long have I been asleep?" She asked, curling her hand around the pendant.

"Just over an hour. Not long. We'll be there soon." Sam said. Twenty minutes later, Sam parked the car outside an old-looking building. It was clearly abandoned. "Stay here." Sam got out of the car and walked around to the trunk.

"Screw that. I got you coffee." Cory said as she got out. "Besides, you'll die without me."

"Cory...Stay here. They want you dead. You can't go." Sam tried to reason with her but he knew it was pointless. She glared at him, crossing her arms. "Fine." Sam finally gave in. He held a gun out to her. Cory gave him a look before walking inside. Sam stuffed it into the bag and followed her. Inside was colder than outside. Cory buttoned her black jacket up, and pulled the hood up. She followed Sam further and further into the building. She could feel the evil surrounding them. It wouldn't be long before they were attacked. They just needed one demon. One demon was all they needed. She'd have her revenge. Cory suddenly stopped, her scythe appearing her hand. It had a long staff and a wide, sharp blade. She turned slightly, looking at the demons.

"Sam." Cory whispered. "You get one. I can handle this." She said, stepping towards the most powerful one was the one that killed Darren. Cory narrowed her eyes at him, tightening her grip on her scythe. Sam figured that he could lure some away so he ran down the hall, taking the demon blade with him. The main demon sent three demons after Sam, leaving five with Cory. The first one ran at Cory. She raised her hand, placing it on the demon's forehead. She felt awful at killing the vessel, but she couldn't control it. When the demon dropped dead, she looked up at the other four. She felt herself getting weaker. She would have to do something and quick or she would be unable to fight. She grabbed her necklace and suddenly pulled it off her neck, the clasp breaking. She threw it to the ground as she stopped time, and focused only on demons. This way, Sam would be safe. When she started time once more, the demons dropped dead. All except for one, which was in awful pain. The demon couldn't breath and felt like its lungs were collapsing in on its self. Cory dropped to her knees, shaking. She felt weak. She needed to sleep. Sam ran into the room, and noticed her on the floor. He knelt beside her, and reached towards her. Cory screamed at Sam.

"Don't touch me! DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed. "I...I just need to sleep...I need to sleep..." She stammered. Sam couldn't let her sleep on the floor like this, but he didn't want to touch her. Sam looked around and found a tarp. He wrapped it around the reaper, careful to not touch her. He used the tarp to carry her to another room, setting her down on a bench. It was better than the floor.

Cory woke up to the demon's screams. She got off the bench, keeping the blue plastic tarp around herself as she walked into the other room. The demon was trapped in a devil's trap, it's skin smoking from holy water Sam had thrown at it. Sam was clearly having no luck with the demon, and Cory found that the demon's screams were very annoying.

"It's pointless. I was stupid to be so hopeful." Cory said, placing her hand on the back of the demon's head. It froze and Sam watched in horror as the demon went through its life span, and died right before his eyes. Cory lowered her hand and looked up at Sam. "I'm hungry. Do you wanna go get something to eat?"

Sam had been silent, horrified and amazed by Cory. He sat beside her in a small restaurant, watching her eat. On the ride there, she told him what her 'curse' was. He wasn't sure how to feel. Cory didn't seem to notice Sam which she had one of almost everything. Every time she used her powers like that, she needed sleep and food. When she had finally eaten all she could, she started to work on fixing the clasp on her necklace. Sam kept a good distance between them, and it hurt Cory. Frustrated, she set the necklace down on the counter and looked at Sam.

"Do I look like a monster?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice calm.

"No...You just freaked me out a little..."Sam said quietly, looking away from her.

"Drinking demon blood freaks me out too." Cory said. Sam looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm alone, Sam. You will never, ever understand how alone I am in this world. Darren was the only one who made an effort to make me feel less alone. Right now, you are acting like the people who thought I was a monster. A freak. So you can make an effort, or I will leave now, and finish this on my own." Cory said, looking away from him.

"How do I make you feel less alone?" Sam whispered, picking up the necklace and fixed the clasp that she was struggling with. Cory watched him, tears in her eyes.

"Don't be scared of me...We are both freaks, Sam. It's not worth being scared of."


	4. Chapter 4

**December 1, 1833. **

**Six Hours before**

**Caroline walked with her grandmother through the park. She wore a black mourning dress with a purple sash around her waist, her hair back in a strict bun. She kept her head down, her bonnet blocking her face from her grandmother. She could feel her corset digging into her skin, blood starting to soak through her black dress. Caroline pulled her black cloak around herself more tightly, glad that the blood wouldn't be visible through the dress. Caroline kept her eyes down on the path, trying to focus. She felt light-headed. The world spun around her. Caroline stopped walking, looking up. Everything was out of focus. She struggled to hear her grandmother say her name. Caroline turned around, and she was able to focus on a black coach. It was the very same one that she had seen outside her house the other night. Caroline looked at it with wide eyes before she was surrounded by darkness. Caroline fell to the dirt path, unconscious before she hit the ground. **

Darren opened his eyes to bright light. It hurt his eyes and he closed them again, wincing at the light. The last thing he remembered was Cory being attacked. Darren sat up, looking around.

"Cory?!" He cried. "Cory!" Darren started to panic. If something had happened to Cory, he would stop at nothing to save her. She had always been there for him, always got him out of trouble. Now he had to get her out of trouble. Darren looked around the dark room, confused. He had woken up on a table, a strange symbol painted on to it. He got off the table, and walked towards the door. It suddenly opened, surprising Darren. A woman with dark red hair stood in the doorway. As Darren looked at her, all the thoughts he had about Cory were gone. He didn't even remember who Cory was as he looked at her. Abbadon smiled sweetly at Darren.

"I'm glad to see that you are awake." Abbadon smiled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small locket. Inside was a painting of Cory. It was painted five months before she died as a human. "Do you know who this girl is?"

"No." Darren said submissively.

"Good. I want her dead, and you will kill her for me." Abbadon smiled. Darren nodded, looking down at the painting. Part of him was screaming at him to stop, to not go after this girl. Another part of him wanted to do what this beautiful woman wanted. To be praised by her.

Cory lay on her bed in the motel room, looking up at the ceiling. She fidgeted with the pendant on her necklace, bored out of her mind. Sam was on his laptop, probably looking at porn or whatever guys look at on the internet. Cory sighed, snapping her fingers. Time froze and she smiled. She got off the bed and sat down on the table, taking the laptop from a frozen Sam and looked at it. She found one of the bookmarked porn sites and clicked on it before setting the laptop back in front of Sam. She laughed as she unfroze time. Sam's eyes went wide and he panicked, trying to close the site.

"Whatcha looking at, Sam?" Cory asked, smiling at him. Sam almost jumped out of his seat when he realized that she was suddenly sitting on the table. Cory froze time again, and walked around behind him. She unfroze time, leaning over his shoulder. Sam tried to cover the screen from her, and ended up just slamming the laptop closed.

"What are you doing?" Sam hissed, turning in the chair. Cory froze time again, giggling as she sat down on her bed again, unfreezing time.

"Doing what?" Cory asked as Sam glared at where she had just been. Sam turned and looked at her, narrowing his eyes. Cory laughed and froze time again. She disappeared quickly and when she came back, she had dyed her hair bubblegum pink just because she could. She was bored with her black hair any ways, and pink hair was all the rage now. She unfroze time and Sam just gave up.

"What the hell did you do?" Sam cried.

"She's fooling around." They spun around and looked at Tessa. Cory almost screamed, pulling her hood up over her newly dyed hair. Cory looked at her mentor with wide eyes, pulling her cloak around herself tightly. Tessa looked away from Cory and looked at Sam.

"She can stop time. That is what she was doing. Every reaper can do that. And that is why I am here." Tessa said. "Caroline, you recently used some of your most dangerous powers. Unless you can explain why, I am going to have to bring you to Death and he will question you. You don't want that, do you?" Tessa asked, walking over to Cory.

"You must have noticed too...Reapers can seen by those who are alive. Demons caused it. I was with Darren...and we were attacked. Darren was killed. I joined Sam, and we went after the demons...I was forced to use my powers." Cory explained, her pink hair falling in front of her face.

"I heard that Darren was killed...I'm sorry for your loss, Coraline but you shouldn't have gone after those demons like that. Leave this to the more experienced, Reapers." Tessa lectured her. Cory looked down, her hood falling off. Cory ran a hand through her new pink hair, sighing.

"No...No. I can't just leave it to you and Death. Darren was my partner. My best friend, and you expect me to just stand aside?! No. I am dealing with this myself. I am more powerful than any other reaper. I don't need you." Cory yelled. Sam was surprised at the way she spoke to Tessa. She was clearly an elder, and mentor to Cory. He was amazed by her courage. Tessa sighed, sitting down beside Cory.

"I know that you are upset. I would be too, but letting us deal with this is what is right. You will be safe this way. Death doesn't want you to be hurt. You are an important reaper." Tessa said, holding Cory's hands gently.

"Is that all I am? An important reaper?" Cory asked, tears in her eyes.

"No. Death chose you for a reason. Don't disappoint him, Coraline." Tessa said quietly. Cory looked away from the older reaper, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. There was a sudden knock at the door, startling them all. Sam got up and opened the door. Darren looked up at Sam, and smiled slightly.

"Who-" Sam started to ask before he was thrown across the room. Darren walked into the room, and turned to look at Tessa and Cory. Cory started to run towards Darren, but Tessa pulled her back.

"That isn't the Darren you know." Tessa said, her silver scythe appearing in her hands. Cory could only watch in horror as Tessa attacked Darren, his blood splattering on the walls. Tessa backed away when Darren yelled for Cory, falling to his knees. Tessa had broken the curse Abbadon had put on Darren that made him forget about Cory. Cory knelt in front of Darren, wanting to hold him close. She would kill him if she did though. Darren fell onto his back, looking up at Cory. He smiled, twirling her pink hair around his hand.

"It...It's pink..."He said, a pained smile on his face. Cory felt tears starting to form in her eyes. "Let me hold your hand..." Darren said. Cory shook her head.

"No...It'll kill you..."She said, her voice cracking.

"Tessa and Death will...Will kill me any ways for this...Please...Let it be your touch that kills me...I've always thought that you would have...the softest, most gentle hands..." Darren said, smiling at her. Cory shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. "Please...Cory..."

"You won't be able to come back...ever." Cory whispered.

"I know...I want this, Cory." Darren said, reaching up to take her hand. Cory instantly flinched away from him. Darren smiled slightly at her. "It's...It's okay..." Darren said. Cory slowly reached forward, still flinching away a little before she finally took Darren's hand, their finger entwining. Cory watched as Darren simply closed his eyes, going through his life span. When he was gone, Cory started to sob, leaning her head on his chest. She didn't care if his blood got on her face. Cory continued to sob, ignoring Sam and Tessa. She ignored them all.

**December 1, 1833**

**Three Minutes Before**

**Caroline stood at the edge of the ballroom, just wanting to go home. It had taken her a few hours to recover from fainting in public, and she still didn't feel well. Her corset was way too tight, and it felt like her lungs were collapsing in on themselves. Caroline was surprised when a man walked over to her and offered him her hand. **

**"Lady Caroline...May I have this dance?" Caroline looked up and felt like screaming but she didn't have the air for it. The man who she had been seeing everywhere for the past week now stood in front of her. "For once last dance." Caroline reached forward and took his hand, letting the strange man waltz with her. "You are dying, and you know it. Don't be scared. It's not over for you yet. Your life is just starting." **

**"Who are you?" Caroline asked, the music getting quicker. She didn't the feel the pain any more. She felt light, and just wanted to sleep now. **

**"I am Death." He said as the music suddenly ended. He let go of her hand. Caroline stumbled away from him, her eyes wide. She looked around the room, coughing up blood. She tried to hide it but there was no use. People turned to look at Caroline, confused. Caroline fell to her knees, her black and pink gown soaked from blood. She looked up at the ceiling before her eyes rolled back and she fell to the marble, golden floor. Like her skirts, blood pooled around her, her eyes still open and still on the golden ceiling. **


End file.
